Understanding Sharia Law
- play show:
Date: 24 April 2008
Why Sharia?
Sharia law--when the Archbishop of Canterbury proposed using a limited form of it in Britain, the country backlashed. But millions of Muslims worldwide say they want the legal code to govern their lives, and Islamic parties often win elections with sharia as part of their platforms. So if it’s so bad, why do people want it?
Noah Feldman offers his answers in a new book that explores the origins, history and contemporary reality of sharia law.
Noah Feldman, professor of law at Harvard Law School, author of The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State
Read the full speech on sharia by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
Deep Prayer for Busy People
Starts at 22:49
Many of us have been taught that prayer requires silence, a quiet space away from the bustle of daily life. But, as Rev. Bill Callahan tells us, it doesn’t have to be that way. He takes contemplative life out of the chapel and into the messiness of our lives, and shares how folks of any religious persuasion can be prayerful amidst stress, conflict and noise.
Rev. Bill Callahan, founder and co-director of the Quixote Center, author of Noisy Contemplation: Deep Prayer for Busy People
Being Transgender in the Methodist Church
Starts at 35:36
Among the many topics on the table at this year's Methodist General Conference is the delicate question of transgender clergy—a topic which until now has been largely off the radar. At the center of the debate is Rev. Drew Phoenix, a Methodist pastor who in 2002 transitioned from female to male. He shares what it’s like to feel “homeless” in his own body - and what's at stake at the conference, held this week.
Rev. Drew Phoenix, first transgender clergyperson in the United Methodist Church, pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church, Baltimore, Md.
Hidden Children of the Holocaust
Starts at 44:30
May 2nd is Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah, a day created in 1959 to reflect on the victims of the Holocaust. This week, we remember the 1.5 million Jewish children who perished with the story of two survivors, who as children hid their identities to escape the Nazis.
